Hokkaido 9 day road trip

Seeking some advice from the Hokkaido road trip experts here.

I'm traveling to Hokkaido this coming May and will be mostly driving, have 2 itineraries in mind, would appreciate anybody's inputs here:

Itinerary #1

May 15 - 16
- Arrive early on the 15th and spend two nights in Sapporo with a possible side trip to Otaru or Jozenkai

May 17
- Drive pass Furano & Biei, dropping by the farms to check out some early spring flowers (if there's any)
- Spend the night in Asahikawa

May 18
- Sightseeing in Asahikawa, then before sundown drive to Sounkyo Onsen and spend the night there.

May 19
- Drive to tulip park in Kamiyubetsu, then to Higashimokoto moss park (heard they bloom nicely this of year)
- Continue eastward and plan to spend the night either in Shari or Utoro

May 20
- Spend the whole day in Shiretoko, then come back to Shari to spend the night

May 21
- Early morning make way to Lake Mashu then to Lake Akan where we plan to stay at the famed Tsuruga

May 22
- Head towards Obihiro, stopping by Tokachi hills and Shichiku garden
- Drive to Chitose to wrap it up

May 23
- Flight out of Japan


Itinerary #2 (i'll try to simplify it this time)

May 15
- Sapporo

May 16
- Sapporo - Asahikawa - Sounkyo Onsen

May 17
- Sounkyo Onsen - Tulip park - Moss park - Shari

May 18
- Shari - Shiretoko - Shari

May 19
- Shari - Lake Mashu - Lake Akan

May 20
- Lake Akan - Tokachi hills - Shichiku garden - Furano

May 21
- Furano - Biei - Sapporo

May 22
- Sapporo - Otaru - Chitose

May 23
- Flight home

So the main difference in 2nd itinerary is instead of spending the night is Asahikawa, on the second day I plan to drive to Sounkyo straight away passing Asahikawa, then saving the trip to Furano for the last leg, with hope the I get to see more flowers by then. Considering I'm pretty much hopping between places on a daily basis, is it a little bit too rushed out?

Sorry for the long post, would appreciate anybody's advice here

Hi sennengurushi,

Good itinerary. However, mid May is still too early to see any flowers in Biei / Furano. I was there in June and some flowers are just starting to bloom. But it is still worthwhile to drive through the hills and farms.

Must stop at Chiyoda Farm (Biei) for delicious steak and some farm experience. There are other places to visit, so just pick up a brochure from the Rest Stops (Michi no-eki).

You have to stay a night in Asahikawa if you want to go to the Asahiyama Zoo. This was one of the highlight of our trip especially if you have kids.

I will be heading to Lake Akan, Utoro, Shiretoko, and possible up north to Wakkanai this June.

Enjoy!!

Hi John, thanks for taking the time to read this. Unfortunately for me, the international license issued in my country is not valid to be used in Japan, so I have to change the whole itinerary and use public transport instead. Hope you enjoy your trip too.

Will you get to visit the places you were planning to visit using public transport?

I can but it's just too much of a hassle. There is not enough train connections to get to some of the key places i want to visit especially in the east area, and local busses are just too infrequent, hence too risky. But i am still gonna visit the moss park in higashimokoto, which is also a big challenge

Did your trip went well? Wonder if I could just follow your plan our trip in May 2017.

we'll be doing Hokkaido as well in May, thinking of 9-10 days there. Worried that flowers would not have bloomed yet...